


Two Shipwrecks in the Night

by dls



Series: Post-Endgame Ficlets [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dark, F/M, Implied/Referenced Incest, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 16:04:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18781570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dls/pseuds/dls
Summary: If Steve Rogers was always supposed to be Peggy Carter's husband, what other roles had healwayshad?





	Two Shipwrecks in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> There are a lot of theories about Steve's "happy ending" in Endgame. One of them is that [Steve is Peggy's unnamed husband](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/avengers-endgame-captain-america-ending-isnt-what-it-seems-1205370) so no families/timelines are erased as a result of his return to the past. Except Peggy has an extended family and we've met one of its members in the MCU. That fun little realization brings us to this fic and the **implied/referenced incest** tag. 
> 
> I'm sort of handwaving Sharon's family background here by making her Michael's daughter because there's little to no information about her in the MCU. *shrugs*
> 
> Beta-ed by [Arboreal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arboreal/pseuds/Arboreal).
> 
> References/Quotes:   
>  Title from "Chasing Ghost" by Against the Current.   
>  _Captain America: First Avenger_. _Agent Carter_. _Captain America: Winter Soldier_. _Captain America: Civil War_. _Avengers: Endgame_.

"Hey." Steve planted his feet, readying himself for a battle off of the field. The kind that involved a pretty girl and the ones that he never seemed to win. "If you want, if you want, you're welcome to use my machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement." He glanced at the laundry basket tucked under Kate's arm.

"Oh, yeah? What's it cost?"  

Steve tried for nonchalant. "A cup of coffee?" It mostly came out uncertain.

Kate ducked her head, a promising smile curving at the corners of her mouth before it turned rueful. "Thank you, but um, I already have a load in downstairs, and, uh...you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so." She trailed off awkwardly.

"Ah, well. I'll keep my distance." He could read between the lines.

"Well, hopefully not too far." Kate's eyes danced flirtatiously, peering up at him under those long lashes and sending mixed signals that made him dizzy.

He was never going to understand women. Feeling at a loss, Steve nodded and moved toward his apartment.

"Oh, and I think you left your stereo on." Kate added.

Steve turned instinctively; good manners instilled by his ma said it was rude to not look at someone in the eyes when they were speaking to you. "Oh, right, thank you." His gaze trailed after her frame, the tumble of blonde hair sweeping across her shoulders, the enticing curve of her waist giving way to the flare of her hips, and the shift of muscles in those long, long legs as she descended the stairs.

It probably wasn't polite to stare at a dame as she walked away but he had always had an appreciation for lovely things.

*

Peggy's hands are shaking as they cup his face. "Steve?"

"Sorry I'm late." Steve tilts his head to press a kiss against her palm.

"I-" Her voice cracks with emotion. "I don't understand. How, how are you here?"

"It's a long story." His throat tightens with the memories of the future, the twice-defeated Mad Titan, the two sets of Infinity Stones, and the second chance he just had to take.

"We have time." Peggy replies, somehow saying just what Steve needs to hear.

"Yes, we do."

*

"Captain Rogers." Kate - no, her name was Sharon, Agent 13, under Fury's orders to protect him - greeted.

Steve took in her expensive suit, the lines as smooth as the way she had held a gun in her hand. She still looked good. Better, even. Her soft beauty enhanced by the sharp danger. "Neighbor."

*

"Are you planning to stay?"

Of all the questions Steve expects Peggy to ask, this certainly isn't on the list but he jumps to answer all the same. "Of course." He hesitates. "If you want me to."

"Of course." Peggy echoes not only his words but his smile too. "It's only ever been you. It's always been you."

Steve is both shocked and unsurprised at how everything suddenly settles into place, the final piece of the puzzle and now he can see the whole picture clearly.

How silly it is to realize that he has been jealous of himself for all those years, wondering about the lucky man who mended and stole Peggy's heart.

_It's always been him._

A laugh bubbles out of his mouth and Steve presses it to Peggy's like a promise.

*

"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD." Sharon gripped the edges of the podium. "But I just knew her as Aunt Peggy."

Steve inhaled sharply at the realization.

"She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related." Her gaze was trained on Steve, communicating something too complex for him to parse.

He watched her speak and looked for all the signs he had missed. The determination in her eyes, despite being a different color, sparkled the same way. The shape of her face, a little rounder but with the same jawline, was so familiar. The cupid bow of her upper lip, pale pink instead of deep red, brought back memories of his first kiss.

The Carter women had always had Steve's heart.

*

"Michael's going to be a father." Peggy says as she hangs up the telephone dazedly.

"That's wonderful." Steve envelopes her in a hug, knowing it takes her a little bit to process surprises. The good kind, that is. Peggy's reflexes are unparalleled when the bad ones happen in the field. 

"I'm going to be an aunt. I don't know how to be an aunt."

"I don't know how to be an uncle." Something tugs at the corner of his mind but he pushes it aside in favor of celebrating the fantastic news of having a new addition to the family. Michael is like a brother to him. "We can learn together." He reaches over and untangles the cord; he misses the cordless phones from the future.

Peggy interlaces her fingers with his. "Together."

*

Sharon glided into the spot next to him with a grace that was both deadly and disarming. "Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter soldier goes to their gym. Most of it is noise. Except for this." She slid him a file.

Steve resisted the urge to grab her hand, aware of how big of a risk she was taking to help Bucky because Bucky was important to Steve.

"My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now. So that's all the head start you're going to get."

He listened to Sharon's voice but heard Peggy's instead.

_I can do more than that._

"Thank you." Steve whispered, unsure which Carter woman he was directing the words to but sincerely meaning them all the same.

*

The double doors leading to the waiting room slam open with a loud bang that echoes down the hospital hallway.

"It's a girl!" Peggy shouts, eyes bright with joy and shadowed with fatigue.

Michael is on his feet in an instant. "Are they-"

"They're both doing well, you can go see them." As if on cue, a nurse appears at the doorway and gestures Michael forward before closing the doors with a marked quiet and a pointed glare at Peggy.

Steve sends her an apologetic grin on his wife's behalf.

_His wife._

Sometimes, he still has a hard time believing how perfectly his life has turned out. The universe has a funny way of working things out, balancing the scales by moving in a full circle. He has taken a long detour but now he is exactly where he is meant to be. By Peggy's side. As her husband.

"I'm an aunt." Peggy grins around the cigar she has in her mouth, passing more out to the other men gathered in the room.

"I'm an uncle." Steve offers her a light. The flame flickers as he tries to control the tremors running through his hands, that same feeling of dread from months ago returns with a vengeance.

*

Steve kissed Sharon with the same desperate impulse he had kissed Peggy, on the cusp of battle and at the point of no return.

Sharon's lips were soft under his, sweet-tasting due to the flavored cosmetic products of today that weren't available in the past. It started as gentle but built quickly from there. The way her mouth parted until the tip of his tongue, the sting of her nails against his scalp as he changed the angle, the jolt of desire racing up his spine and pooling in his belly.

It had been a long, long while since he touched anyone with intent and the kiss was over all too soon.

Sharon sighed as they parted. "That was..."

"Late." Steve supplied and thought about all the chances he had let slip through his fingers, how he wanted to hold on to her by wrapping his hands around the dip of her waist and the curve of her hip.

"Damn right." She chuckled, a warm sound that sent his heart fluttering. It quickly settled when her expression sobered. "I should go."

"Okay." He watched her go, admiring the hourglass of her figure as he had done years ago in an apartment complex that never felt like home with a neighbor who wasn't really nurse. When this mess was over, he told himself, he would take her out for a night of dinner and dancing.

*

"Everyone, meet Sharon!" Michael proclaims proudly to a chorus of coos from the women and a round of applause from the men.

Steve wonders if everyone in the room could hear the thudding of his heart. He feels sick, bile rising from his stomach and flooding his mouth with bitter horror.

Someone passes him the baby to hold and he takes her with shaking arms.

The pink bundle in his arms blinks blearily up at him, brown eyes and round face and cupid bow lips.

**Author's Note:**

> [dls-ao3.tumblr.com](https://dls-ao3.tumblr.com/)


End file.
